The end of an era ....

Well guess who visited our house on Friday? The Pappie Fairy .... a very impromptu visit ... we'd been talking about it for several days with Catherine Ellis, but had not planned for her to come so quickly. I admit, I jumped the gun. We got home early Friday and in my mind I had planned to go for a walk, etc. The weather was amazing, but I had to feed Caroline first. Catherine Ellis is rather impatient when it comes to feeding times for her baby sister, so she immediately started whining, ran to her room and started looking for her pappies. Usually they sit on the nightstand, but Friday they were in a dresser drawer and she knew immediately that if they were not on the nightstand, they were in her dresser. She furiously started pulling the drawer and crying "I want my pappies, I want my pappies."

The night table with no pappies .... oh dear!

I couldn't take it anymore ... 30 months and not one night without a pappie. It was time. "Oh my goodness Catherine Ellis! The fairy must have come while you were at school!" She immediately starting crying and saying over and over ..."they not come and take my pappies".....she did this for about 45 minutes and it was over. She asked two more times at bath time and bed time for her pappies and was simply reminded the fairies came and they were gone. She slept all night Friday night, Saturday afternoon took a 3 hour nap, slept all night again Saturday night and another 2 hour nap this afternoon. AMAZING!!!!

Why was I so hesitant to get rid of them? Fear, I tell you. Straight.up.fear. I should have known she would blaze through this transition just like she's blazed through all the others, never looking back. This I know for sure .... we are incredibly lucky/blessed. I know it could have been so much worse and I'm thanking God for a child that rolls with the punches of growing up - may every transition be this smooth.

So look at our big girl now -she's not missing her pappies at all - can't you tell by that big grin on her face?

Look Mommy, no pappies in my hands, on my bed, under the covers ....

So excited that we've weathered another transition smoothly -
believe me we are ALL this joyful!

Catherine Ellis Cain - Pappie Free as of 9/23/2011

And of course, as always, I'm still the one hanging on ... scared to move forward and leave behind another reminder that my precious first born is growing up. I know I'll blink my eyes and she'll be 16 one day ... until then I plan to keep living the present - there really is no better gift. And just in case I'm missing her pappie days and need a reminder of my sweet girl's baby days .... have no fear ... mama knows where the fairy stashed them.